Time Lord
by Interface
Summary: The Doctor and River Song come across a world where time is the currency and being a Time Lord isn't the safest occupation!  11/River, Will/Sylvia. Rated T as a precaution.


"Sweetie! We're passing through unknown radiation!" River Song gripped the Tardis monitor tightly. Her feet were planted firmly on the glass floor. Her body swayed and rocked this way and that; thrown about by the sudden and violent movements on board the time machine.

"What is it?" The reply barely audible above the grumbling.

"I don't know!" She reached with one hand to type a search into the Tardis database. Finally the Time Lord's head bobbed up from where he'd been working beneath the console.

"Then how do you know it's radiation if you don't know what it –"He was thrown back down to the floor by a violent tremor.

"It's radiation alright," the curly haired Professor confirmed reading the reams of Old High Gallifreyan that passed across the screen, "Powerful enough to alter the genetic makeup of anything that comes into contact with it – Including us sweetie"

Her partner climbed to his feet; holding the console to steady himself, "A week should do it. No. Make that two, take the Tardis two weeks into the future, with any luck this radiation storm will have passed"

Balance perfect, River Song let both of her hands work keys to set coordinates, flicked levers, charted a flight pattern and pulled sharply on the big lever. The Doctor stumbled clumsily with the almighty surge; his jacket sleeve caught on the door lever. Both blue wooden doors swung open, catching both Time Lords by surprise. Hands no longer holding the console River was drawn out by the massive pressure change. Held by merely a thread of his sleeve the Doctor was close behind her.

The doors slammed shut; the pair were lost.

And the Tardis? Two weeks in the future of course.

"Doctor, Doctor wake up"

Seeming to comply, the Doctor's eyes shot open as he sat bolt upright. He barely breathed her name, "River…"

"We've got a problem" She pulled her left sleeve up to reveal a line of green numbers counting down on her arm. The Doctor quickly dragged his own sleeve back. He quickly identified the numbers as time, counting down.

"What's this?" he asked holding his arm out to compare to hers.

"It's our time," River held her advanced PDA over the numbers, scanning every inch, "It's our lives counting down, time is running out – We've got an hour" She identified.

The Doctor stared at her for a moment; he let out a nervous laugh, "Time running out?" he scoffed, "We're Time Lords," he waved his hands indicating to themselves, "Time doesn't just _run out_"

River shot him her best _'Oh really?'_ expression, eyebrows raised. Her jaw tightened as she holstered her PDA, "Well it's running out here" The frown she received in response seemed hardly convinced. She offered her hand to help him up. Their hands locked on the other's forearm. The strangest sensation seeped between them. River instinctively checked her time – It was draining, quickly. 20 minutes left, 15… 10. River snatched her arm away utterly horrified.

"Doctor!" she cried watching the minutes count down ever closer to zero. The Doctor checked his time, he'd gained 55 minutes.

"Oh that is extremely very not good," he breathed. He made a grab at River to check her time. She pulled out of reach.

"Don't touch me!"

"River, calm down, I just want to –"

From nowhere a dark figure leapt from the shadows locking a silver device against River's arm. With mere minutes left on her clock and without a second to spare; her time increased – 1 day.

The Doctor stared at his shell shocked wife. Under a mess of curls she looked up at him from the green numbers on her arm. His mouth was dry; she could have died.

"Who are you?" he asked as he took River's hand and examined the time increase. Half hidden from the stranger his fingers curled around the cold metal of his sonic screwdriver.

"Will, Will Salas"

His voice was not your typical deep 'tough guy' sort of voice. The Doctor hesitated; his eyes looked up into River's for a brief moment. He released the sonic and allowed it to nestle back into the fold of his pocket.

"I'm the Doctor, this is River" He turned to face the man.

Will Salas was equal in height with the Time Lord. His eyes weren't cold, nor harsh, almost kind, "The Doctor?" His mouth very nearly broke into a bemused smile, "That's your name?"

"Yes. That's what they call me" Will Salas shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his all black attire made him look like some kind of burglar, right down the black hat he sported. Over his shoulder the strap to a fair sized holdall bag wrinkled the material of his jacket, the contents clearly heavy.

"Well Doctor, it would seem you don't belong here" Still doused in mystery Will Salas snatched the Doctor's arm and locked the silver device against it – 1 day.

"So," Will let the spent device drop to the floor with a clatter, "I saw you fall from the sky, what are you?"

"Time Lords"

"Time… What?" The Doctor was suddenly looking down the barrel of a very loaded gun, "Time Lord…? What are you doing here?"

"Well, long story, quite funny actually…"

A menacing click-click in Will's ear had him stood perfectly still. The Doctor raised his hands in surrender.

"Put it down…" River sounded almost exasperated holding her gun to the back of Will Salas' head.

"I'd do as she says. River and guns" The Doctor shivered slightly, "Just trust me"

Gun down, and the only woman present in full control, normal conversation resumed.

"So, a Time Lord, that's like a Time Keeper right?"

The Doctor smirked at River in bemusement shaking his head as he asked. "What's a Time Keeper?"

Will relaxed, actually broke into a smile. He dropped the holdall to floor; the partly open zipper revealed many more silver devices inside.

"Tell us about time," River insisted.

"Time, time, time. Where do I start? Time is everything. Time is your morning coffee; it's your ride to work, it's the clothes on your back. Time is your day's work…"

"Time is money" The Doctor was intrigued.

"And if you don't have time?" River adjusted her grip on her gun.

"Then you die. Time is spread across zones; there is only so much time within each zone up for grabs. An increase in time in a poor zone will attract the Time Keepers, they maintain 'the order'" Will screwed his face in disgust. The Doctor suddenly understood as his eyes once again passed over the open holdall at their feet.

"And you're what, Robin Hood? Stealing time from the rich to give to the poor?"

"Should one person be immortal if it means that even one person has to die?"

Swallowing hard the Doctor's eyes slid to River. She lowered the gun. "No"


End file.
